Falling Down
by Fia96
Summary: It's been seven years since Sarah left The Goblin King with Toby. Forlorn and impatient, she seeks out a teaching position. She suddenly begins to feel a presense after her and becomes paranoid. Is it who she thinks? M for language.
1. Remembrance

**Summary:**

_It's been seven long years since Sarah Williams escaped the clutches of The Goblin King with her younger half-brother Toby. After receiving her degree of Education at university; forlorn and impatient, she applies for a teaching position at a local high school. Soon after applying, she begins feeling as though she is being stalked, being watched everywhere she is. Paranoid and afraid, she is terrified it could be something that had left her years ago. _

_M for cussing and eventual content. Warnings shall be given out when needed. _

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**_Falling Down_**

A thunderstorm was raging outside, the heavy drops of rain smashing against the cracked windows. Lightning streaked the sky and the heavy roll of thunder woke the young woman sleeping in her bed. She jerked awake, her eyes wide. She spun around to see the storm and cursed under her breath. When she heard a light knock on her door she lay back down and called out, "Come in!"

A familiar bob of blonde hair poked in and adorable blue eyes stared straight into hers. She relaxed and smiled at the cute little boy at her door. "What's wrong, Toby? Is the storm scaring you?" Her voice was kind and gentle, like the way her mother would have spoken to her if she'd been alive right now.

Toby nodded, his blonde locks bouncing on his big head. "I'm really scared, Sarah." He said, whimpering when another roll of thunder was heard. He bolted to Sarah and attempted to jump into her bed. Sarah caught him and tucked him in beside her, his blue polka dot pyjamas rubbing against her silky ones. She enveloped him in a tight hug, her arms a haven to the Toby.

There was once a time when Sarah would have pushed Toby away from her and screamed for him to leave her room. But that was seven years ago; seven long, forlorn years ago. She was now twenty two, an age too old to be still living with her father and step mother. After completing a degree of Education at university, she'd just retired to just living with her parents until she found a suitable job that would help support her.

Yet she had a certain yearning in her chest that she couldn't quite define. She'd felt it after dating so many men it was hard to know how many she'd actually dated. It was too many to count. That feeling of not belonging with those men was strong and she dumped them the moment she felt it. She wasn't the type to lead them on.

Toby snored by her side gently, his small body rising and falling in a steady rhythm. Sarah stroked his blonde hair and sighed, reminiscing when he was only three, when he'd disappeared from her life for thirteen hours. _No! _She shouted in her head. _I will not think of that. _Sarah inhaled deeply and forced out the willing memories to surface, to make her face her fear.

Instead, she let Toby curl into her and she too fell asleep, for once not dreaming of a particular person.

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**A/N:**

**Yay! First chapter =D Reviews are much appreciated and flames are reluctantly welcome. I love all those that review. Make me happy =D**

**~ Love Fia**


	2. Finding A Job

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Labyrinth universe whatsoever... so sad...**

**People! Update's here for those that reviewed and alerted the story. Thank you to those that did. Hopefully you'll enjoy this.**

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"Hey, I'd like to apply for the teaching position here." Sarah almost stammered out, nervous.

The middle aged, redheaded secretary eyed her through her half-moon glasses. Sarah felt exposed under her gaze. The secretary scribbled a few words down on a small piece of paper and handed it to Sarah. "Those are the directions. Follow them and then you'll find the man you're looking for." The secretary's nasal voice rasped, indicating she was in the midst of a cold.

Sarah picked up on this and after picking up the piece of paper, ruffled through her black shoulder bag and pulled out a packet of eucalyptus cough lollies and a jar of eucalyptus rub. She placed them on the counter and nodded her head meekly, scurrying away to the directions on the note, leaving the secretary dumbfounded.

Sarah rounded the left corner of the pallid hall and found the door she was seeking for. It read, _Headmaster _in large, gold letters on the glass windowpane. Sarah advanced towards it and jumped back in surprise when the door was yanked open and a young male teenager scurried out of the area, heading for the halls. Sarah stared, wide-eyed, after the boy. What could have scared him so much to send him running away like a madman? Her answer was by the door when she turned back around. A tall, broad shouldered man in a comfortable grey suit and black tie was leaning on the frame of his door casually, a dark expression on his smooth face.

Sarah flinched impulsively, clutching her bag to her side. The man averted his steely gaze to her own stare, his grey eyes blazing with anger which eventually ebbed. A false mask of kindness closed over his face, pulling a forced smile onto his lips.

"May I help you?" He asked.

It took Sarah a moment to get her voice back. "I'm here to apply for the teaching position." She repeated the similar words she'd given to the secretary at the front desk. "I'm sorry if I disturbed anything."

He waved it off. "Just a nuisance that needed to be dealt with." He motioned her to come in. "Let's talk inside."

Once inside, Sarah took no time to observe her surroundings. She was far too nervous for it. He'd already seen her resume and was most likely going to ask her to talk about herself. Bracing for the question, she crossed her legs when she sat down on the plastic white chair and leaned back. The headmaster sat in his own rolling leather chair and laced his fingers together, a common gesture people made when scrutinizing people.

The headmaster fiddled with his pen, sparking a flame of irritation in Sarah's chest. He then cleared his throat and ran a hand through his brown hair. "Now, Miss Williams, please tell me why you'd like to work with teenage children at this school?"

"I want to teach them." She answered simply.

"You do know that teenagers are quite hard to discipline since they are in that stage of rebellion?"

Sarah sat up straighter. "I was a teenager once, sir. I do know what they're going through and can use that to my advantage to help them learn better." Her answer was proud and challenging.

"I see..." The headmaster said. That was it? He was done? "I'll get back to you in three days. I have others that need interviewing. Nice meeting you, Miss Williams." He made a shooing motion with his hand, his eyes now focused on his computer screen.

Sarah exited the room, completely baffled. That was possibly the shortest interview that had ever occurred in her entire life. She shook her head, clearing her thoughts. She turned to leave the building and smiled at the secretary at the front desk who beamed back. She waved her over and Sarah came to the edge of the front desk with a curious expression.

"Thank you so much for what you gave me. I haven't had time to purchase anything because that damned Mr. Alter keeps on giving piles and piles of work. But as a repayment, I'll make sure you're hired." She winked, taking off her half-moon glasses. "It's the least I can do after what you did for me."

Sarah grinned, nodding her head eagerly. "Thank you so much. You're a wonderful lady."

"Name's Abby. We'll get along just fine." Abby waved her manicured hand in the air, a habit almost certainly picked up from Mr. Alter, the headmaster. She grimaced and muttered, "Gotta get out more."

Sarah chuckled and left the school. It was a fine day out after the hectic storm the night before. The sun was out, just warming the surface of the Earth with the right temperature. The land around her was fertile and lush, everything a radiant green. Sarah hopped into her car, her nose crinkling at the amount of dust in it.

_Note to self: Clean out car tomorrow._

Only because she wasn't bothered to do it today. She wasn't ashamed to admit she was as lazy as cat and would rather be lying in the sun than working. But she needed the money. There was no other job offers in the town and this was the perfect job after receiving her teaching degree. Sarah had worked her butt off for it and it was time it paid off.

Sarah edged closer to her parent's home and parked just outside the house. At second, Toby came running out of the house in his Superman pyjamas, his blonde locks bouncing up and down as he ran towards Sarah's car.

Sarah opened the door and was engulfed in the small boy's embrace. "You're finally home! We've been waiting for you! Mummy and Daddy have something for you." Toby exclaimed, trying to drag Sarah out of her car. "C'mon!"

Sarah laughed and followed her persistent little brother into the house. She stepped into the house and was surprised to smell lavender and a meal roasting in the oven. Raising an eyebrow, she followed Toby into the living room. What she saw puzzled her even more.

Her parents sat down on the couches and parallel to them was a young man, round about her age, with dirty blonde hair, pale skin and a well developed body. Suddenly, she had an epiphany. They were trying to match make her with every single man in town. Gritting her teeth, she forced a smile when her parents acknowledged her presence.

"Sarah! Hey! I'd like you to meet James. He's in town for a while and needs a guide." Her stepmother gave her a sly wink which Sarah dismissed with a roll of her eyes. "Would you mind helping him out?"

Sarah waited a few seconds before replying. "Of course, I'd be happy to." She looked at James and caught his brown eyes in her blazing green ones. He cringed away slightly from her line of vision. "Let's go, James. I know a very lovely coffee shop downtown. We can chat there." Without another word, she spun on her heel, stormed out of the living room, ran up the stairs, into her room and shut the door. Using her soundproof room to her advantage, she screamed in frustration.

It was times like this when she wished she had her mother back. Divorced or not from her father, she wanted her back in reality – real to touch instead of a picture in the corner of her mirror. Overwhelmed with sorrow, she then collapsed onto her bed, bawling her eyes out.

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**A/N:**

**Okay okay, you're probably thinking, "Oh my God! Where is Jareth and Sarah? What about him?" Well, he will appear very soon and don't worry. I can't give anything else way now. I'm leaving it a mystery.**

**~Fia**


	3. The Park

**Thank you to all those that reviewed. I love you! Enjoy!**

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**Chapter 3**

**_The Park _**

After her emotional breakdown, Sarah's step-mother ordered her discreetly to leave that instant. Apparently it was extremely rude to leave guests waiting. Sarah rolled her eyes and darkly marched out of the house, James already in her car. He made no comment at its condition which was a good thing. She wasn't up for an argument with a stranger too.

James was an alright man. He had a good career as a professor at the nearest university and had a well stable family. He was polite, humorous and a gentleman. Sarah was rather impressed at her parents' skills at finding a good guy. But Sarah didn't want James.

"James, I'm really sorry." She said, placing down her mug of hot chocolate. She wasn't a fan of coffee. "I know my parents are trying to set us up and I'm really sorry if I gave you the wrong idea."

James smiled genuinely. "I know, Sarah. I know. It's okay. I'm only here to keep you company and your parents off my ass."

Sarah threw her head back and laughed. "I never would have suspected this." She gasped out when she managed to control her laughter. "Do my parents know?"

"No. They think I'm actually here to seduce you and sweep you off your feet." He smiled cheekily. Sarah resisted the urge to smack him playfully. She didn't want to give him any ideas. "Are you going to scull that down?" He asked with a challenge in his brown eyes, indicating her hot chocolate. Sarah could almost see the wicked glint in them.

She eyed his coffee, a similar thought crossing her mind. "Sculling competition? Up for it?" She smirked at his slightly surprised facial expression. This was quickly masked with a look of determination.

"Oh, it's on."

They both grabbed their mugs, staring each other off. They were so lucky there were no other customers in the diner. It would have been very embarrassing otherwise.

"1, 2..." She deliberately trailed off.

"3!" James announced, gulping down his drink, Sarah also doing the exact same thing.

Sarah slammed her mug down, a triumphant grin on her face. "I win!"

James rolled his eyes and finished off his drink. "I don't know how you do it. You're just too skilled for me." He said, wiping his mouth with a napkin. Sarah simply wiped hers on the back of her sleeve, grinning the whole time. She'd always been competitive, always willing and determined to win. "Well, thank you for the lovely chat, Sarah. I have to head off."

Sarah smiled and said, "It was nice actually meeting and talking to one of the guys they tried to hook me up with." She then noticed what she said. "Don't take offense to that. I didn't mean it that way."

James dismissed it with a wave of his hand. "I didn't even notice. You have a good night, Sarah." Sarah waved as he left, then sighed when he was out of sight. It'd been a very long day. She was exhausted. Her now frequent yawns were a sign. She went up to pay for their drinks only to realize James had taken the liberty of doing so. She blushed at the thought. He was very sweet. When she was about to tip them, she noticed he'd also tipped them. Frowning, she was determined to at least pay for some of the beverages. Next time, she'd pay. _If there was a next time..._

As Sarah drove home, she spotted the old park she used to escape to. She glanced at her watch. It was only four o'clock. There was plenty of time. Besides, she wanted to prolong her stepmother's wrath. After parking her car, she climbed out, the lasting breeze brushing her long dark hair out of her eyes. She inhaled deeply, closing her eyes as she did so, her senses drawing in every familiar aspect of the park.

She saw the bridge that crossed over the small creek and the old, rusty swings. Lush green grass was speckled with pink petals from the blossoming trees. Dark green trees stood majestically, towering over her. She smiled. She felt at home here.

She walked around the park for half an hour, keeping track of time by the big clock near the square that always helped her know when it was time to get home and save herself a lecture from her stepmother and her father.

It seemed like only yesterday when that had occurred. But no, that was seven years ago. Seven years ago, she'd been an innocent, fantasizing teenage girl. _Except one of those fantasies became real... _She shook her head to clear any thoughts of those memories. She couldn't bear to reminisce on them again. The anguish was too much to maintain.

Sighing in unison with the wind, she lay down on the clean grass, its unique feeling soothing. Drops of the morning dew and the blades of grass tickled her nose. She could lie there forever, just staring up at the brilliant red sky. The sun was sinking deep down into the horizon, winking goodnight to her. Time flew by. Soon, the sky was midnight blue, dotted with gorgeous diamond stars. They twinkled brightly, mesmerizing her greatly.

With a final sigh, she decided to time to go. As she walked across the bridge, the hoot of an owl caught her attention. She spun around, facing a lovely snow white owl perched on a tree branch, and its alabaster feathers a beacon in the night. Its topaz eyes glowed, haunting her. The owl reminded her of something... or someone.

Her heart began to pound against her ribcage. Her breathing hitched, catching in her trachea. _No way..._ Before the memories could resurface, she ran from the owl as fast as she could to her car. She sped away, accidently pressing the car horn in the process. She blinked back tears on the drive home, waiting for her heart to slow down.

This was going to be a rather interesting evening.

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**Crappy ending, I know. I had what... ten minutes. Bear with me here. Now, if you like it or hate it, please review and LET ME KNOW! I hate it when it's viewed and there's not acknowledgement of it. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Sorry about the wait... oh and err... you burn my story down mercilessly, *grabs chainsaw* I'll come after you... Just kidding... for your sake. ;D **

**Remember: reviews = love = free hugs! Love you all!**

**~ Love Fia xoxo **


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